Roar means I love you in Dragon
by Imanza
Summary: Inspired by this Tumblr post: "A young gay dragon being forced to explain to his dad why he's only kidnapping princes. A young gay prince having to explain to his dad how he keeps managing to get kidnapped by the same dragon, over and over."


As soon as he hears the telltale clang of the tower bell, Eren knows his otherwise mundane day is about to get a whole lot better.

He had just spent the better part of the morning with his philosophy tutor, nodding at regular intervals and wearing a mildly constipated look on his face so as to give the impression he was indeed contemplating the meaning of life. He's on his way back to his chambers to get changed for sword training, and as the passing servants throw armfuls of linen in the air and make a mad dash for the nearest stairwell, Eren thanks his lucky stars he's currently unchaperoned as he sticks his head out the closest window and looks up.

He sees the tail end - literally - of a huge mass of dark, glossy scales shoot over the roof of the building and land somewhere further away with a _thud_ that vibrates all along the stone walls of the inner courtyard. Down below, several of his father's men are struggling to push past the wave of terrified people scrambling back inside the castle. Eren sighs. Considering it's the third time this month alone, you'd have thought they'd be more prepared by now, but apparently not. He would hate to think what would happen if they ever had a _real_ emergency on their hands.

More soldiers show up, shields and pikes at the ready. Hannes, Captain of the Guard, is among them, blond hair glinting in the sunlight and arms flailing frantically in the air as he yells at his men to get in formation.

"It's landed on the keep! Everyone up on the battlements! We can't let it get away this time!" He bellows. His men yell back in affirmation, and they make for the castle walls with their weapons raised high above their heads.

_Oh shit_, Eren thinks. They're heading right his way, and if he doesn't act now, they'll sweep him up and hide him in the dungeons til it was all over. He whips his head around and looks up and down the corridor, racking his brains for the quickest way to get out and be _seen_ - trust it to head straight for the keep, the absolute drama queen - when he remembers there's an open bridge separating this building from the next one right ahead.

He sprints down the corridor and nearly smacks head first into the heavy wooden door. Cursing lightly, he tilts his body sideways and tries to put as much of his weight as he can into heaving it open. After a bit of huffing and puffing it finally gives, and as soon as he steps outside he hears an ear-splitting roar that has him instinctively ducking for cover.

"Alright, sheesh, no need to get pissy," he mutters as he straightens back up. He runs to the parapet and leans over, craning his neck towards the keep. A huge dragon is perched on one of the turrets, a hail of arrows hurtling in its direction from the archers stationed along the castle walls. Wings the colour of pitch beat once, twice, and suddenly the dragon is up in the air and well out of range of anything but perhaps a well-placed cannon shot. It whirls around easily, far too graceful for something of its sheer mass, scattering the arrows still clinging to its skin.

Now Eren is in its line of sight, and he uses every one of his five feet and six inches to look as noticeable as physically possible.

"_Prince Eren!" _He hears someone yell. It's Hannes, leaning over the turret of the building right ahead, looking down at him with icy fear in his eyes. From his periphery, he sees the dragon turn towards them. He feels a prickling in his skin.

It sees him.

_"Prince Eren, run!" _Hannes screams.

Eren bolts across the bridge towards Hannes' building. _Gotta at least try to make it look authentic_, he thinks. If he knows this creature - and he does - he won't even make it to the doors.

He can see the black mass of the dragon swoop down towards him. It's quick, quick enough to give lightning a run for its money, Eren thinks, and he barely makes it three steps before he can feel the gust from its wings as they cleave across the air.

He risks a glance in its direction - and feels its hot breath fan across his skin as it opens its maw, baring rows and rows of razor sharp teeth heading straight for his head.

He closes his eyes.

A solid weight rams into him, knocks him clean off his feet and leaves him winded. He feels himself being lifted through the air in a cold, boney cage, and suddenly the air is whistling past his ears and sending his hair flapping messily across his face as he is whisked away in a dragon's talon, the shouts of his father's men growing fainter and fainter in the distance.

* * *

Eren's legs start to go numb about halfway through the trip, and he sinks to the ground with a loud _oof! _when the dragon finally sets him down. He picks himself back up and dusts himself off, sighing quietly when he sees the dirt caked on the knees of his white trousers. They were his mother's favourite. He can't imagine she'll be too pleased.

He wiggles his head around, trying to get rid of the crick in his neck, and notices the dragon is nowhere to be seen. In its place stands a man - same pitch black hair, same storm grey eyes - and rather vertically challenged, if Eren says so himself, but so far he's gotten out of these rendezvous in one piece and he'd much rather it stay that way, so he keeps that last one to himself.

"Where the hell are we? That took a lot longer than usual," he says as he tries to shake the blood back into his legs.

"See for yourself," the man replies, pointing forward with a tilt of his head. The lazy drawl of his voice makes him sound permanently tired, or permanently bored. Eren suspects it might be both.

"Wow, you moved. Who knew there were so many abandoned castles just lying around for the taking?"

"I emptied it myself," the man replies. A ghost of a grin flickers on his lips, but quickly juts down into a frown instead. "Everyone back home's seen you at least three times. We're all big fans of your father's gold, but enough's enough. I have a reputation to look after."

Eren shrugs. _Must be a dragon thing_, he supposes.

"Sooo, Levi," he starts, edging closer to the man. "Nice new place you've got here. Be a shame to waste all that space, huh?" he asks, waggling his eyebrows for good measure.

"Piss off," Levi deadpans, weaving easily past him towards the castle doors.

"Oh, come on! This is what, the third time this month? You miss me, I know it," he yells after him.

"Kid, they do a better job looking after their fucking _pumpkin patches_ than they do you. Now shut up and get inside."

"But what are we gonna _do_?" Eren whines. "My father's men won't be here for at least another day."

"You're helping me clean up this pigsty," he says. Eren is taken aback by how satisfied he sounds. "Previous owners were a bunch of pigs. You can start with the kitchen, it's fucking disgusting."

Eren runs in front of him, effectively cutting short his one-man march on all things filthy.

"Is it the whole bestiality thing that squicks you out? Because technically it's not, I mean, you're all man right now," Eren says, licking his lips.

Levi says nothing, just looks at him, eyebrow twitching slightly.

"You know, Eren," he murmurs, voice honey-smooth, "I don't think I ever told you this before, but I'm actually one of those fire-breathing kinds. Runs in my mother's side of the family, you see."

"I'll go get the broom," Eren replies.


End file.
